Cal Tjader – Soul Sauce (1965) (Audio)

An album that every latin jazz fan should be aware of, from an artist that is a staple of latin jazz. What made Cal Tjader such a prominent fixture in latin jazz is that many famous traditional artists dabbled in the sub genre, some even recorded entire albums devoted to latin jazz, but Cal Tjader primarily based his entire sound on the latin infused sounds of timbales, shakers, bongos, güiros, and other latin percussive instruments, and of course the beautiful sounds of his vibes.

Cal Tjader performed from the early 50s until his untimely death in the early 80s (In relation to Roy Ayers, Roy specifically mentions Cal Tjader as a generation slightly before him). This 1965 release was the prime of Cal’s career, and was also one of his more popular albums. Soul Sauce is a great example of who Cal was, and what his musical style represented. Aside from hearing an occasional Hip Hop sample, this album contains great recreations of Cal’s own composition entitled Leyte, and also one of jazz’s most popular compositions Somewhere In The Night…and of couse Cal puts his own latin flare on it.

Listen to Soul Sauce, and you’ll understand why Cal Tjader is held in such high regard in the latin jazz community, and click here to see a live performance of Soul Sauce (Guacha Guaro)